Americans Abroad

Deadline Day, American Style: Rubin, Payne, Boyd

Deadline day saw Rubio Rubin make a move while Desevio Payne wisely stayed with his current club. Meanwhile, Emerson Hyndman’s loan to Rangers continues to look like a very shrewd move.

BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
February 01, 2017
4:30 PM

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Rubin leaves Utrecht for Silkeborg

In 2015 Rubio Rubin was one of the top-rated young American in the game, earning more than 2,000 minutes as an 18-year-old for Utrecht. But then a tough injury forced him to miss most of the 2015-16 season. Last summer it appeared as if Rubin was going to be a starter again for Utrecht in 2016-17 but he struggled with his finishing and other players stepped up. As a result, playing time became scarce for the Oregon native.

On Tuesday Rubin found a new home as he completed a move to Silkeborg which currently sits in 10th place in the Danish Superliga. He will not be the only American in the Superliga as AC Horsens features both Steve Clark and Conor O’Brien while midfielder George Fochive plays for Viborg.

This is a good move for Rubin and it needed to happen. Whether or not the Superliga is a step down from the Eredivisie—it is—is beside the point. If it gets Rubin back on the field, it is good.

Rubin, now 20, remains a talented player. He has some impressive skills although he has struggled with his finishing in the early part of his career. That will likely come with confidence and experience.

Silkeborg is struggling this season in Denmark and while it does have a few players who can score, no one on the team has stellar numbers. Georgian Davit Skhirtladze has seven goals in 21 appearances and Nicklas Helenius has six goals in 17 appearances.

Rubin should get his chance at Silkeborg and like his former U-20 teammate Emerson Hyndman, he needs to make a strong impression in his first few games.

Desevio Payne gets a boost

Desevio Payne did not get transferred on deadline day. Even better for him, FC Groningen’s starting right back Hans Hateboer was sent to Atalanta in Serie A and now Payne will move into the starting spot. Hateboer’s move to Italy was scheduled to happen in the summer but it was moved up to Tuesday largely because Payne looked ready to take the spot.

Payne, 21, has shown himself to be very talented. His problem, however, was staying healthy, as various injuries sidelined him for most of 2016. Now that appears to be behind him and the Greenwood, S.C., native scored a goal two weeks ago in his first Eredivisie start of the season when Hateboer was suspended.

This is great news for Payne and for American fans because Payne is talented enough to quickly rise in the right back pecking order for the national team. Of course DeAndre Yedlin, Timothy Chandler, Eric Lichaj, and Keegan Rosenberry represent tough competition but Payne has a very high ceiling. Now he has a golden opportunity to see a long run of consistent minutes.

What if Hyndman keeps it up?

Emerson Hyndman, 21, has made an exceptional start at his loan with Rangers. In his debut, he came into the game in the second half with 15 minutes to go and assisted on the game-winner. Then, in a 2-0 win over Motherwell, he earned the start and was part of both goals—starting the build-up to the first with a nice pass and scoring the second.

On Wednesday Hyndman earned the start again in a league game against Hearts. With Rangers trailing 1-0 in the first half, Hyndman took advantage of a botched clearance and hammered home an equalizer. At that point, through 150 minutes of his loan he had scored twice, had a game-winning assist, and started the build up to another goal.

Young players on loan often have a very short window to prove themselves and Hyndman clearly seized the day. Rangers’ fans are so impressed that many wish that it could be a permanent deal.

The problem, however, is that Hyndman signed a four-year deal with Bournemouth last summer. At first it appeared as if he was going to get an opportunity but an injury in preseason proved to have significant consequences and he fell out of favor.

It's going to be very difficult for Rangers to afford Hyndman on a permanent transfer given the Scottish team’s tough recent financial history from which it is still not fully recovered. Rangers might be able to convince Bournemouth for a season-long loan in 2017-2018 but if Hyndman continues to do well at Ibrox, another team with a bigger budget could swoop in and meet Bournemouth’s demands. Or, Bournemouth could become so impressed that it gives Hyndman a chance in the Premier League.

Either way, good things are happen for Hyndman right now. This loan is looking as if will open doors and make the summer window very interesting for the Texan.

Boyd finally reaches Bundesliga

Last week Terrence Boyd completed a transfer from RB Leipzig to Darmstadt—the last-place club in the Bundesliga. Ever since developing his game at Hertha Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, where he only played in the reserves, Boyd has wanted to play in the Bundesliga.

The move to Darmstadt opened that door but not without a cost. Darmstadt is in a very poor situation and is certain to get relegated. Boyd finally made his Bundesliga debut over the weekend but Darmstadt was thoroughly outclassed at home by Cologne, 6-1.

Boyd, 25, is on an 18-month deal with Darmstadt and it is great news that he is once again healthy. But what does he do after this season? Does he remain with Darmstadt in the 2.Bundesliga or does he move again as many relegated clubs look to shed salary?